Puppy Love Sucks
by jylener22
Summary: A bodyguard's job is straightforward: protect your employer. Of course, it would be nice if your own skin doesn't get damaged in the process, but one goes in knowing the potential risks. However, Ichigo's current job protecting the sister of a high-ranking vampire isn't going to be as cut-and-dry as his previous assignments as she has the ability to influence those around her.
1. Chapter 1

Nearly ten o'clock at night and his phone was ringing. Of course it would be as he was about to curl up and sleep for a full ten hours like he hadn't been able to do for a solid four weeks, so he was half-tempted to ignore the call…then he thought about his pitiful bank account and he growled as he accepted the call.

"Yeah?" Ichigo said in a barely civil tone.

Whoever was on the other end of the line either didn't notice Ichigo's tone or chose to ignore it as they asked rather cheerfully, "Hello, do I have the pleasure of speaking to Mr. Kurosaki?"

Rubbing his eyes, Ichigo said in a tired tone, "Dr. Kurosaki doesn't live here. You must have misdialed."

There was a surprised gasp at the other end even though Ichigo himself wasn't at all surprised. There was a list a mile long for why Ichigo couldn't stand his dad most of the time. While there far more important reasons higher up on the list, right now he mentally berated his dad for the millionth time for insisting on keeping the entire Kurosaki clan on the same phone plan. Ichigo was constantly getting calls from people looking for his dad because they had pressed the last number incorrectly.

That would have been slightly more okay for Ichigo to take if it were not for two facts: 1) Isshin's last digit was '9' and Ichigo's was '8' 2) Isshin distributed business cards with script that was so swirly, twirly, fancy most people couldn't tell that the last number was a 9 and not an 8 and no matter how many times Ichigo complained, Isshin positively REFUSED to get new business cards with a more reasonable script.

Just as Ichigo was about to hang up, the voice asked hastily, "Did Mr. Kurosaki move recently? Do you know where I might be able to contact him?"

Trying to keep his irritation level down, Ichigo answered as patiently as he could, "Dr. Kurosaki has never lived here. He still runs the same clinic over on Karakura Street. Same place it's always been."

"Oh, I see," said the voice in confusion until after a moment's hesitation there was another gasp and a small laugh as the voice said, "I'm not looking for a Dr. Kurosaki. The person I wish to speak to is Mr. Ichigo Kurosaki."

"Then that would be me," said Ichigo automatically before he frowned and scratched his head and asked, "If you were looking for me, why'd you call me…" then he stopped as he recalled whom the voice had asked for before he gave out a short chuckle of his own as he said, "No one's called me 'Mr. Kurosaki' since high school."

Another chuckle from the man (Ichigo was fairly certain he was speaking to a man) before he said, "I see. Well, now that we have that straightened out, I'm hoping we can talk business."

"Fire away," said Ichigo quickly as he stifled a yawn.

Apparently, the guy on the other end had extremely good hearing as he said, "I'll try not to keep you long. It's very easy to forget sometimes that most people aren't awake at the same time I am."

So, the guy was a vampire. Now the late hour phone call made sense. He almost wanted to thump himself on the head for being so dense. Not like he hadn't worked for that species before or anything.

"I'm good to talk business," replied Ichigo, "Who's the target, who're the bumpers and how long do you want my services?"

There was a pause on the other end of the line which Ichigo was quite used to so he translated automatically, "Who do you want me to protect and whom do you want them protected from?"

"Oh, I see," said the man in obvious relief, "I'm looking for someone to protect my younger sister. I can't really answer your second question until I know if you'll take the job or not and even then I need to talk to you in person rather than over the phone. And lastly, I'm not sure how long my sister and I will be in need of your services. Perhaps a few days, perhaps longer."

Scratching the back of his head, Ichigo said, "I see."

Seeming to hear something in Ichigo's tone, the man hastened to say, "If you are at all worried about your salary, I can assure you that I am aware of your going rates right now and I can promise you that I will pay that in full on your first day and if we require you longer than a week, you will make double that every week you are employed with me."

Ichigo's eyebrows shot above his hairline. While his services didn't come cheap, no one had ever complained of Ichigo Kurosaki overcharging. He was one of the best at what he did, but he had heard more than once that the main reason he was hired was because of his affordable rates.

Despite the fact that more than half of him wanted to jump on the man's offer right away, his intuition told him to be cautious. This guy seemed nice enough over the phone, but Ichigo had dealt with plenty of those kind. From what Ichigo could guess from his voice, the guy seemed like he was on the up and up, but there was definitely something he was holding back.

Once again getting nervous at Ichigo's silence, the man said, "I have an idea. What if tomorrow night you come out to my home and I can give you a few more details? I'd be more than happy to pay you a day's wages for your time even if you don't accept my offer."

Rubbing his eyes again, Ichigo said, "Give me the time and place and I'll be there."

As he wrote down the address and name of the man, Ichigo thought to himself, "What can it hurt?"

What indeed…

* * *

The following evening, Ichigo found himself standing in front of a good sized mansion. A good number of his former clients had been quite well-to-do, but he definitely thought that this family was a cut above the others. They didn't feel the need to garishly flaunt their wealth to the entire world. Everything was tastefully done on the outside with the gardens being well attended too and the house being made of white marble with forest green shutters.

Pressing the buzzer for the intercom, Ichigo waited a few seconds before what Ichigo could only describe as a 'proper butler' intoned, "Yes?"

"Ichigo Kurosaki here by appointment," replied Ichigo.

"One moment, please," said the low voice and Ichigo heard the intercom click off.

He stood there about fifteen seconds before the butler clicked the button again and said, "The front gate is now unlocked. Please close the gate behind you as you come up."

Ichigo pressed the button and replied, "Will do," before he followed the butler's instructions.

The walk to the front door was longer than he had thought it might be (he had been half-tempted to cut across the lawn and save himself a few steps, but previous experience had taught him not to risk trampling on other peoples' grass), but his long strides soon were carrying him up the front steps. Just as he reached the top step, the front door opened and Ichigo saw that his previous assessment was accurate. The man standing before him could not be anything but a butler and he held himself with great dignity and took pride in his work.

Opening the door fully, the butler inclined his head as Ichigo stepped over the threshold before he asked, "May I take your coat, sir?"

"Yes please," said Ichigo after a moment's hesitation as he reminded himself not to use the slang 'Yeah'. While the butler's gaze was not hostile in any way, Ichigo really didn't want those icy blue eyes to flash with superiority over him when Ichigo didn't show proper decorum.

Taking the proffered garment, the butler turned to hang it on a coat rack, before looking back at Ichigo and saying, "This way, please," and leading Ichigo across a huge foyer to a flight of stairs. They turned left at the top and Ichigo counted about ten doors before the butler finally stopped at one on the left side.

Rapping on the door, the butler waited until he heard, "Yes?" before saying, "Mr. Ichigo Kurosaki is here, sir."

There was no initial reply, but a few moments later, Ichigo heard footsteps approaching the door and then saw it open.

A man in his early to mid-thirties had opened the door. His hair was a shade or two darker than Ichigo's own chocolate brown eyes while his eyes were gray as steel. However, the man's face was anything but stern and a huge smile spread across his face as he held out his hand for Ichigo to take.

"Thank you so much for agreeing to come out here on such short notice," said the man as he gave Ichigo's hand a good shake, "Did you have any trouble finding it?"

Returning the man's friendly handshake, Ichigo replied with a half-grin, "Not at all. Your directions were quite clear and thorough, Mr. Inoue."

"That's good to hear," he replied, "But please, call me Sora."

"As you please."

Sora grinned at Ichigo before looking at the butler and instructing him, "Byakuya, if you would please inform Hisana that she can finish those preparations on the refreshments as soon as possible and then find my sister and tell her to come and see me in about fifteen minutes time, I think Ichigo and I will have just enough time to discuss some important matters before we require anything else."

"Very good, sir," said Byakuya with a respectful bow.

"Oh, hold on a moment," said Sora suddenly before looking at Ichigo, "Do you have any dietary preferences or restrictions? I'm sorry I didn't think to ask you before now, but it quite slipped my mind as we usually only have to entertain other vampires."

Shaking his head, Ichigo said, "No worries. My diet is only really affected the day before, during and after the full moon and even then I could have the same kind of food as vampires. We werewolves aren't extremely picky about sustenance."

Letting out a sigh, Sora said, "Well that's a relief then," then turned back to Byakuya and said, "I'll ring if we need anything else."

"Very good, sir," repeated Byakuya before he retreated back down the hall.

Drawing back to allow Ichigo to enter, Sora said, "Come on in and make yourself comfortable."

Ichigo glanced briefly at the room as he walked over and settled himself into an overstuffed leather armchair in front of a large desk, where Sora seated himself. The room was obviously a kind of study combined with a library from the various shelves stocked with books while the other shelves were stocked with office supplies. It was sparsely decorated, but just like the outside, the things in the room were quality.

Leaning his elbows upon the desk, Sora said, "I assume you have worked for my kind before."

Ichigo nodded as he replied, "I've worked for the Li, Kinomoto, Ashura, Yasha and Shirou covens."

Sora's eyebrows rose as he said in an impressed tone, "That is some impressive work," then he frowned slightly as he asked, "If you don't mind my asking…"

As Sora's voice trailed off in embarrassment, Ichigo supplied an answer by simply saying, "I'm twenty-four. I officially hired myself out as part of a business when I was nineteen, but I began working as a bodyguard at seventeen."

"I see," Sora nodded in understanding and admiration as he said, "So it's no wonder I was told you are the best person to hire in your line of business."

While Ichigo didn't reply, he couldn't help a surge of pride as he said, "You can be the judge of whether or not I can handle the job."

Grinning in a knowing way, Sora said, "Yes, let's talk business now."

Sora cleared his throat and Ichigo was rather surprised when the congenial light left Sora's gray eyes. He had become completely serious and Ichigo knew that whatever job Sora was about to propose, it was something he was greatly concerned about.

"I mentioned over the phone that I am looking for someone to protect my sister," Sora pressed his fingertips together in front of his mouth as he said, "but the reasons I am looking for protection for her are numerous and unclear."

"What do you mean by that?" inquired Ichigo.

"There is not a specific coven or pack or gang right now who are targeting my sister," answered Sora, "however, I have reason to believe that within a week, that will all change."

"How so?" Ichigo prompted when Sora paused for a time.

Raising his eyes to look directly into Ichigo's, Sora said, "My sister will turn twenty-two next week and I have reason to believe that she will undergo some sort of change that will put her life in jeopardy."

Quirking an eyebrow in surprise, Ichigo thought for a few moments before he asked, "Is she an adopted human or different species from yourself?"

Chuckling drily at Ichigo's question, Sora said, "No, my sister is technically a vampire."

Noticing Sora's choice of words, Ichigo's eyebrows lowered in confusion as he probed, "What do you mean?"

Thinking for a few moments, Sora took a long breath before he replied, "I'm going to do my best not to bog you down with details, but there is a bit of backstory that I need to give so that I can explain what I meant in my last statement."

Sitting back and opening a drawer in his desk, Sora quickly retrieved a leather bound book and handed it over to Ichigo. When he opened the cover, Ichigo saw that it was a photo album.

Pointing to the first photo which was of a bride and groom looking stoically at the camera Sora said, "My mother and father," he paused a moment and took a deep breath before he said hastily, "Yhwach and Tia Hallibel."

Ichigo's gaze snapped up to meet Sora's as the man said, "You heard me correctly," he glared at the photo as he said contemptuously, "My parents were 'Lord and Lady Crimson'. I assume you've heard of them."

Opening and closing his mouth several times as he tried to piece together an appropriate response, Ichigo finally said lamely, "Yeah, I have."

Sora chuckled humorlessly as he replied, "Of course you have. I doubt there is anyone from your generation who hasn't at least heard some rumors about the massacre."

Ichigo drew a deep breath before he said, "My dad was called in to try and help those still clinging to life."

Sora's eyes snapped up and Ichigo was startled by the look of horror in his face as he asked, "What do you mean? Are you saying that some of those poor people…"

As the blood drained from Sora's face, Ichigo said quickly, "Yes, some of them lived an hour or two longer, but they were all comatose. They never woke up and slipped away peacefully."

Dropping back into his chair, Sora draped a hand over his eyes and said nothing for a time. It was Ichigo's policy not to know any more about his client's background than was absolutely necessary. While a voice in the back of his mind was insisting that he tell Sora to only give him the bare facts and nothing more, Ichigo couldn't help but respect Sora a little more for owning up to his parentage. Even more than that, Ichigo respected his remorse and disgust towards the brutal acts of his infamous parents. Ichigo couldn't think of any other vampires he'd worked for who had nearly as much moral fiber.

Coming out from his daze, Sora lifted his hand to look at Ichigo as he said, "I apologize for my reaction and for taking up more of our time."

Before Ichigo had a chance to respond, Sora went on, "It shouldn't come as a surprise to you that I made a decision to estrange myself and my sister from our parents. A distant aunt allowed us to come and live with her and we took on her family name."

Leaning forward again, Sora said, "To be perfectly honest, though, before the 'Bloody Moon' as it is now called, I had already begun making plans to cut ties with the Hallibel coven."

"Why?" asked Ichigo automatically in slight confusion. The Hallibel coven had one of the longest lineages and so therefore were very powerful and wealthy. There were only two covens who officially outranked them, yet they were the only coven in this part of the world, so that made them all the more influential.

Another brief pause before Sora seemed to make up his mind and he said, "Because of my sister. Either my parents would have killed or exploited her if I had not run away with her."

Before Ichigo could pose the question, Sora answered it by saying, "My sister is not a normal vampire."

"How so?" Ichigo prompted when Sora paused.

"Where to start," sighed Sora, "Well, she has only ever bitten four people in her life and two of those times she was forced to do so by my parents simply so that they could confirm that she was a legitimate vampire."

At Ichigo's confused frown, Sora explained further, "Orihime detests the taste of blood, especially human. However, she will eat cooked meats and other things like a normal human, which is one reason my parents had to prove to the other members of the coven that Orihime was a vampire by having her bite someone."

"Okay," said Ichigo slowly before he asked, "What about the other two times? What happened there?"

Right away, Ichigo could tell that Sora hadn't expected him to pick up on that little detail. Briefly, Ichigo wondered to himself why Sora would be so surprised. It was Ichigo's job to notice the little details that no one else deemed important.

Sora cleared his throat and he said hastily, "Well, that's a little more complicated to explain, so let's just say that…" his brain seemed to grasp desperately for some answer and he finally blurted, "Let's just say that she felt like it."

"Excuse me?" said Ichigo flatly, "I thought you just said that he hated the taste of human blood."

"She didn't bite them for sustenance," replied Sora quickly, "She just did it because…well, because she said they were unhappy."

"Right," said Ichigo in a slow, sarcastic tone, "And a vampire who bites someone because they look unhappy and not because they are hungry is totally normal."

Before Sora could say anything else, Ichigo asked, "Just come out and say if your sister is weak-minded or something. This is the twenty-first century after all where a wide variety of mental illnesses are perfectly normal and totally acceptable as well and treatable."

Instead of taking offense, Sora sighed and said, "While you will soon find out that my sister is a very imaginative person, especially for someone her age, that doesn't make her certifiably crazy. She is…quirky. Nothing more."

"I would hardly describe biting two depressed people in an attempt to make them feel better as 'quirky'," Ichigo said along with air quotes, "And by the way, did her biting them really make them happy."

Looking Ichigo dead in the eye, Sora said flatly, "Yes, it did."

"What?"

"After they were bitten, both humans fell asleep for a few seconds. When they woke up, both showed no signs of remembering my sister's biting them and went about their business as happy now as they were unhappy before."

Ichigo absorbed that information for a while before he asked, "How is that possible?"

"I'm not sure," Sora said honestly, "I don't dare take her to any doctor since there are none I truly trust. On my own, I have tried to research and see if any other vampire has been the same as my sister, but it seems to me as if she is the only one of her kind."

Sitting back and mulling for a moment, Ichigo asked slowly, "Any other…" he paused to try and come up with the right word, "special abilities to watch out for?"

Before Sora could respond, there was a knock on the door and Sora said, "Yes, come in."

As the door opened, Ichigo turned and saw Byakuya enter the room with a tray and followed closely by a young woman Ichigo could only guess was the…'unique' vampire, Orihime. Had he not just talked with Sora about the fact that she was a vampire, nothing of what Ichigo saw would have led him to believe she was anything else, but now he scrutinized her closely.

Orihime's skin was pale, nothing unusual there. She was smiling as she entered the room, so Ichigo got a fairly good look at her pointed eye teeth which would elongate fractionally when she prepared to bit someone…apparently only someone who was feeling down in the dumps, but still needed for that purpose. The one thing Ichigo did notice and that gave him pause were her eyes. Normally vampires would have darker colored irises that would turn even darker when they were hungry or in a high state of emotion. Orihime, however, had eyes the color of tempered silver. Momentarily, Ichigo wondered what color they would turn if Orihime found another unhappy victim.

These thoughts passed quickly through his mind as he rose along with Sora as he said, "Ichigo, may I introduce you to my sister, Orihime? Orihime, this is Ichigo."

Extending her hand with a glowing smile, Orihime said sweetly, "Good evening."

Ichigo shook her hand gently as he replied with a nod, "Ma'am."

"Please Mr. Kurosaki," Orihime giggled, "call me Orihime."

Giving her a half grin, Ichigo nodded and said, "And I'm Ichigo."

A little more than an hour later, Ichigo was being escorted back to the front door by Byakuya, Sora and Orihime. Ichigo thanked Byakuya when the butler brought him his coat, shrugged into it and looked back at Sora and Orihime.

"I'll be here around six tomorrow evening," Ichigo said in full business-mode, "I realize that is probably early for you, but I'd like to take a thorough look at the grounds and any security you may or probably do not have. Will that be a problem?"

Sora shook his head and said, "Not at all. We'll be ready by six."

With a nod, Ichigo took his leave.

* * *

The following evening, Ichigo arrived at quarter after six. His knock was swiftly answered by the ever-polite yet completely aloof Byakuya.

After giving Byakuya his coat and baggage, Ichigo turned to see Sora standing half-way up the stairs as he waved and said, "Good to see you. Would you rather look at our security system first or tour the grounds?"

"Grounds first, then the inside of the house," Ichigo replied right away, "That way I can see what's already been done and if there's anything we need to add when we look at the camera footage."

"Very well," said Sora as he walked the rest of the way down the staircase, "Follow me, if you please."

Since he was focusing most of his attention on analyzing the grounds and going through various scenarios in his mind of what defenses there were would be if there was a security breach, Ichigo wasn't able to truly look around and appreciate the well cared for gardens and fountains giving the mansion a highly sophisticated look. However, he did briefly consider that he had been right in his first impression that everything was done in a subtle and tasteful manner when it came to decorating.

There were several varieties of flowers ranging from dahlias to gauras to wild daisies all in various colors. They were arranged so that there was constant change from darker shades to lighter or smaller flowers to larger ones, which created constant contrast on different levels so that one might think the arrangement was chaotic at first until one stepped back and took in the whole sight. Flowers, shrubs and trees were kept tidy and structured and yet expressed a freedom and uniqueness.

Other than escorting Ichigo from one end of the gardens to the other and answering a few questions here and there, Sora mostly hung back and allowed Ichigo to do his job. After a while, Byakuya also joined them to bring some warm beverages as summer was ending and the nights were becoming chillier. He was also another good source of information to answer Ichigo's inquiries.

At last, Ichigo turned and said, "Let's walk around the perimeter of the house, then take a look inside."

Another half hour passed outside before Ichigo was satisfied with his findings. He may not look it, but when it came to his work, Ichigo was a stickler for details. In the heat of the moment if his client were in danger, Ichigo acted mostly on instinct, but he had learned the hard way that when too many things were left to chance, usually others paid the price.

As the group walked through the door, they were greeted by Orihime and two other women. They were both nearly the same height and Ichigo might have said they were identical twins, but the slightly taller one had longer hair and Ichigo saw more defined laugh lines encircling her eyes.

Stepping forward, Sora said cordially, "This is Hisana," he indicated the older woman, "She is our chef extraordinaire, housekeeper and happily married to our faithful Byakuya."

Hisana gave a slight curtsey as she said, "Pleased to meet you."

Ichigo was about to reply when Sora went on, "And this is Rukia. Hisana's younger sister and Orihime's lady's maid."

"Ladies," Ichigo said simply with a polite nod to both before he looked at Orihime and said, "Good evening, Orihime."

While she had been smiling politely a moment previously, Orihime positively glowed as she replied, "Hello again, Ichigo."

Ichigo saw Rukia elbow Orihime in the side (apparently in what she thought was a subtle manner) and gave her a knowing look, but he chose to ignore them and turn to Sora and ask, "Start from the basement and work up from there?"

"Sounds good to me," replied Sora in what Ichigo thought might be a tone of relief as he stepped to the right and said, "Right this way."

As he followed behind Sora, he was pretty sure he heard Orihime ask, "What was that for Rukia?" but he wasn't sure and he really didn't care since he was once again focused on his job.

**Author's Note:**

I'm half in conflict over posting this new story...and the other one I'm going to start right afterwards, but I've found that if I keep suppressing ideas and stories like these, I never get around to them. Once I actually post them and I have people who are waiting on updates, I put pressure on myself to finish since I don't like coming across stories that I'm dying to finish and yet haven't been touched in over a year. Also, while I'm one of the biggest procrastinators around, given enough time, I'll finish my stories because in my mind the worst thing I could possibly do is leave something unfinished. Plenty of times I've been tempted to just give up on a project (I've deleted one or two of my stories because I just wasn't satisfied with them and was frankly embarrassed by them), but I just can't. I may not keep it around, but I wouldn't like the thought of unfinished work hanging over my head.

Anyway, this was a story I had tried to finish for a contest on dA with the OrangeCrush-Ichihime group, but 1) I ran out of time and 2) like you can see, it's no where near completion yet, so I decided to take things a bit further and publish in chapters.

For any of you who are curious, I did draw inspiration from the anime/manga _Karin _for Orihime's powers as a vampire. Other than that, I didn't ever finish the whole story of Karin, so I don't think I'm taking anything else from there, but if I do, then that will be completely by accident.

Hope you guys are somewhat intrigued by this and I will spend some good time trying to think of where this will go next.


	2. Chapter 2

Later that evening, Ichigo saved Orihime's life for the first time…but not in the way he would have anticipated.

After his thorough inspection of the house's security system and finding only a bare minimum of minor things that might need to be updated or replaced, Ichigo was starving and really glad that Sora had thought enough in advance to have Hisana prepare dinner for about nine o'clock.

Having very heightened senses not only from being a werewolf but also from training himself to see more, hear more and react faster than any other bodyguard had very few drawbacks. However, in this instance, being able to just barely smell all sorts of wonderful scents coming from the kitchen because they were so far away was definitely one of those drawbacks. While he did know how to cook, he usually kept things simple since he was usually on a time crunch, so his mouth began to water as his nose picked up the smell of a perfectly seasoned roast, French bread, garlic mashed potatoes and vegetables in a spicy marinade.

At 8:55, Byakuya informed Ichigo and Sora that dinner was laid out and ready. Ichigo tried to keep himself from seeming too excited as he followed the older men through the hallways and into the dining room. Orihime was waiting for them with a smile on her face. Had Ichigo known her better, he might have picked up on the fact that Orihime's smile was slightly less bright than it had been when he had first arrived.

Byakuya helped Orihime into her chair first, then Ichigo and finally Sora. He then proceeded to take large platters of food from a sideboard and serve each person in the same order in which he had seated them. Once again, Ichigo was struck by just how different this job set-up was from what he usually got. Here he was eating dinner at the same table as his employer and 'protectee', whereas usually he was required to blend in with the wait staff or stand off to the side while the person he was supposed to protect ate with their family or at a party and then Ichigo would have to scarf down a quick meal whenever he could before quickly getting back to his real assignment.

Realizing that his body was beginning to relax even slightly, Ichigo mentally shook himself. One of the cardinal rules of being a bodyguard was to never, ever relax until the job was done and the money was in your hands. Relaxing was a luxury, a comfort and a hassle he was better off avoiding at all costs. Besides, he wasn't paid to relax, he was paid to be vigilante and notice things that other people didn't.

"So, Ichigo."

Even though Ichigo's mind had been wandering for less than a second, he still mentally kicked himself again for good measure before he turned his attention to Sora.

"Yes?"

"I know that in your line of business," continued Sora with a small smile, "getting to know your employers and telling them a lot about your past or anything about you is not usually a good idea. However, I would like to hear anything you might be willing to share with us, if only to make conversation here at the table."

Taking a bite of food, Ichigo chewed thoughtfully. This was not the first time that an employer had asked Ichigo for details about his past. In fact, a previous employer's niece had been quite determined to learn every single thing there was to know about him and had pestered him at every opportunity. One of the other bodyguards who had been employed along with him had said it was because the silly girl thought he was 'a smokingly fierce devil boy'. Even though Ichigo thought the phrase used was completely absurd, he nevertheless understood what it meant. He had made absolutely sure never to be caught alone with her and was glad when his contract with her uncle was completed.

Swallowing the bite of food, Ichigo kept his exterior and tone nonchalant as he responded carefully, "As we discussed previously, my dad's a doctor. Owns his own small clinic and runs it privately."

"Decided not to take over the family business, eh?" said Sora with a smile as he lifted his glass to his lips, "I can respect that."

"How so?" Ichigo asked automatically before Sora's meaning hit him and he backpedaled quickly, "Wait, forget I said that."

Putting another bite into his mouth and chewing quickly in order to give himself a few moments to think, Ichigo then swallowed and said, "Besides my dad, I have two younger sisters."

"I see," replied Sora, "That is quite interesting."

Wanting a quick subject change, Ichigo began turning his head in Orihime's direction as he asked, "So, Miss Inoue, is there anything in particular…" but he didn't get to finish his question as the next moment he was jumping out of his chair and racing around the table. Byakuya was the first to reach Orihime's side and hold her upright, otherwise she would have face planted into her garlic potatoes.

Immediately going through his mental database to try and figure out what kind of attack Orihime had just fallen victim to and cursing himself for a complete fool for not having prevented it, Ichigo asked Byakuya hastily, "Will you please ask Hisana to come here?"

Arching an elegant eyebrow down at Ichigo, Byakuya replied coolly, "That will not be necessary, sir. Miss Inoue is quite all right if merely unconscious at the moment."

Just as he was about to open his mouth to grind out a retort, Sora laid a hand on his arm and then addressed Byakuya with, "Please take Orihime upstairs and have Rukia help her into bed."

Inclining his head to Sora deferentially, Byakuya said simply, "As you wish, sir," and then bent to sweep Orihime into his arms and bear her carefully from the dining room.

The instant Byakuya and his charge were out of sight, Ichigo immediately whirled around to face Sora, but the man was one step ahead of him.

Gesturing to a chair, Sora said, "Please sit down and I will explain."

When they were both sitting once again, Sora let out a long sigh and said, "I haven't seen Orihime do that in quite some time. I guess I should have predicted it, but I must admit that I was quite caught up with work and making preparations for your arrival."

"Sir," cut in Ichigo in as calm a voice as he could manage, "could we please cut to the chase?"

"Oh yes," said Sora hastily before he cleared his throat and explained, "Along with Orihime's unusual eating habits, she is also not nocturnally active."

"So," asked Ichigo slowly, "she sleeps at night…like most humans?"

"Yes," replied Sora, "all Orihime did right now was pass out from sheer exhaustion as she hasn't slept since you left last night."

Ichigo tried to form words, but that failed him for a solid ten seconds in which time Sora said, "This is another reason why I hired you to protect her. Since she has a completely different sleeping schedule than any of us in the house, Orihime is most vulnerable during the time when she is most active."

"Oh," was all Ichigo was able to say at the moment while he processed this new information.

Holding his hands out palms facing up in a beseeching manner, Sora went on, "Even if Byakuya and I were to take shifts to stay up during the day to watch over Orihime, you know how daylight saps a good portion of a vampire's strength. Even a mediocre assassin or kidnapper would be able to overpower either one of us and then do what they came to do."

Looking Sora square in the eye, Ichigo asked, "Any other obscure pieces of vital information you've neglected to share?"

Sora thought for a while, shook his head and then said rather sheepishly, "Nothing's coming to mind right now."

Rising from the chair to go back to his original seat and finish his dinner, Ichigo said, "Should anything else occur to you, the sooner you supply me with the info, the better."

"Of course," replied Sora with a slight wince and vague smile.

The rest of the meal went without a hitch. Byakuya had long since returned from his mission of carrying Orihime to her room and so stood deferentially against the wall as Sora and Ichigo exited the dining room before helping Hisana clear away the dinner things.

Once in the hallway, Ichigo turned to Sora and said, "I assume you have no other plans for this evening."

"I do not," Sora replied, "unless you count working in my office."

"Not really," said Ichigo as he checked his watch, "I was mostly referring to you or someone else planning on leaving the house."

Looking up, Ichigo said in a more business-like tone, "I'll be spending most of the night in the room you set up for me."

"Very well," Sora said before he asked, "Wouldn't you be more comfortable with the security cameras and equipment in a different room? I imagine the space is rather cramped as it is."

Shaking his head, Ichigo answered automatically, "A good bodyguard is never far away from his principal."

"Principal?" Sora inquired.

"Orihime is the principal, the person I'm hired to protect," explained Ichigo quickly before he went back to his initial explanation, "and so I should never be far away from her."

Starting to walk away and waiting a few moments to make sure Sora followed, Ichigo went on, "If Orihime were your brother, I would have made sure that all the security equipment was set up in his room where I could monitor him pretty much all the time."

"But how would either of you get any sleep?" asked Sora in concern.

Shrugging his shoulders as he stopped to check the lock on a window, Ichigo said, "I've trained myself to function with only an hour or two of sleep a day. I can keep that up as long as I'm on a job. As for my male principals, most of them were older and who could sleep through anything, so it was never an issue to have the security equipment set up in their room. In fact, most of them liked the sense of control it gave them to see what was happening around their home."

"I see," said Sora slowly, "I suppose that does make sense," then he asked, "but what will you do now since Orihime's sleeping schedule is different than you anticipated?"

"Good question," said Ichigo as he turned from the window to look Sora in the eyes, "However, it's not as big of a deal as you think it will be. Remember that I only need between one and two hours of sleep out of twenty-four and I never said that I got all my sleep in one go."

At Sora's bemused expression, Ichigo went on, "I usually only power nap for twenty minutes at a time and I can take those whenever. Unless I'm at home and not on a job, I don't follow any sort of pattern with anything I do."

Continuing on down the hall with Sora trailing behind, Ichigo said, "One of the first things most assassins or kidnappers do is survey their target for a period of time and look for any patterns in routine that they could possibly exploit."

Sora's eyes widened in understanding, but all he said was, "Oh."

"So," said Ichigo as he stopped at another window, "while there's not much I can do about meal times or scheduled engagements, I make sure to be as unpredictable as possible when it comes to making my rounds of the house and grounds. When I'm tired, I nap for twenty minutes and then get back to work, but the times I sleep are never the same."

Shaking his head in wonder, Sora asked, "Are you sure I'm paying you enough? I never realized just how much a bodyguard has to do."

Cracking a half-grin, Ichigo replied, "My salary is more than adequate. The job description isn't much different from what a cop has to do, but I get paid better because it's not very steady work and my skill set is slightly more advanced than your average cop."

Sora looked as if he were about to say something else, but stopped himself when his attention was caught by something down the hall. He moved around Ichigo and walked quickly towards whatever had attracted his gaze.

"You shouldn't be out of bed, Orihime," said Sora in a concerned tone as he drew near his sister and held his arms out to her, "You need to sleep."

Allowing Sora to wrap his arms around her, Orihime nevertheless did not allow him to propel her down the hallway and said instead, "I will, but there's something I would like to do first."

Turning to Ichigo, Orihime took a deep breath and said slowly, "I'm sorry for the spectacle I made of myself at dinner. I'm also sorry if I caused you undue worry."

While he didn't let it show on his face, regardless, Ichigo was quite taken aback by Orihime's apology. Why in the world did she even think she needed to apologize? It wasn't like she purposefully passed out at the dinner table to get attention or anything. If he had been back at that one employer's house with the annoying niece and she'd pulled something like that, Ichigo would have been more than slightly suspicious, but as it stood now, Ichigo didn't think he needed to worry about this girl doing something similar.

Shaking his head, Ichigo replied, "Don't worry about it. It's my job to protect you," he cracked another half-grin as he said, "all though I must admit that I never imagined that I'd have to save someone from smothering themselves in food."

Putting a hand over her mouth and giggling, Orihime said, "But wouldn't that just be a heavenly way to die? Surrounded by delicious food?"

"Nah," said Ichigo with a straight face, "I've always been rather partial to a good execution by beheading or, even better…" he paused for effect, "…the Hom-Dai ritual."

Eyes huge in disturbed fascination, Orihime asked breathlessly, "The Hom-Dai ritual?"

Again, Ichigo waited an extra few seconds before he said, "Being turned into a mummy…while you're still alive."

Clapping a hand over her mouth, Orihime's eyes started to shimmer as she moaned, "Oh, how awful. That's just…just…"

Mentally calling himself every kind of moron imaginable, Ichigo backpedaled quickly, saying, "It was just a joke. I got it from a movie."

"Oh," Orihime said in a slightly watery voice before she turned to shield her face with her hand as she continued, "I'm sorry. I should have realized."

Again with the apologies for no reason, Ichigo thought but aloud he said, "Don't worry about it. I took the joke too far."

Then crossing his arms and quirking an eyebrow at her, Ichigo said, "It's probably about time you got back to bed."

"Oh right," said Orihime before she turned to give her brother a quick peck on the cheek and said to them both, "Good night."

They both watched her make her way down the hall and as she turned the corner, Sora said to Ichigo, "She only reacted that way because she's exhausted. While horror movies aren't her favorite, she has seen her fair share."

"Thanks for the tidbit," Ichigo said before continuing on his check of the house.

Even though he did file that information away in his brain, Ichigo believed it was to be a frivolous detail that he would never have to reference again. And under normal circumstances, that would have been the case.

**Author's Note:**

Curious if anyone can place the Hom-Dai reference I made. :)

Other than that, I don't have much else to say on this other than I'm just taking this story one step at a time. I don't have much of a game plan for where this thing will go or how it will end, so it should make for an interesting trip all around.

Hope you liked it and that things are making sense!


	3. Chapter 3

The rest of the night passed completely uneventfully.

From his vantage point with the security cameras, Ichigo was able to observe Byakuya doing his butler kinds of tasks like polishing the silver, Hisana preparing different dishes and then setting them to the side for later, Sora working in his office on paperwork or making several calls and finally Rukia floating around the house helping with whatever needed to be done. At one time she'd be chopping vegetables or fruits for Hisana to put in the blender to make the vampires' meals [**Author's Note: explanation on that coming later] **and then a bit later Rukia would be helping Byakuya replace and arrange fresh flowers in the different rooms.

Like he had told Sora, Ichigo made his rounds and took his 'cat naps' at irregular intervals. There were a few minutes that put Ichigo slightly on edge when he saw a car stop next to the gate and just sit there for several minutes. Just as he was about to go outside and investigate, he saw a man and woman get out of the car and start to argue. The woman stalked over to the man and thrust what looked to be a map at him, to which the man responded by slapping it on the car hood and making angry gestures with his fingers on the map.

While the entire incident with the man and woman could possibly be a ruse to diffuse Ichigo's suspicions and divert his attention, the likelihood of that was rather unlikely in Ichigo's estimation. Those two would have to be superb actors and the one to think of such a ruse would have to be a genius. Further confirmation of Ichigo's belief that this was not an act came when the woman pulled out her cell phone and then began pacing back and forth impatiently, switching between yelling at her phone and continuing her argument with the man at regular intervals.

Leaning back in his chair, Ichigo couldn't help the small grin that tugged at his mouth as he watched the drama unfold. The woman's phone would not get a signal because Ichigo had created a 'dead zone' around the Inoue household with the help of some tech he had picked up from a colleague of his earlier that day. The dead zone extended for half a mile in all directions so that anyone attempting to hack into the Inoue house or internet was going to have more than their fair share of work to deal with.

A few minutes later, the couple got back into the car and peeled away so noisily that Ichigo could hear the tires squealing from where he sat. He cringed slightly at the sound since his hearing was sensitive and he didn't prefer high, piercing noises.

After that, it wasn't long until the dawn started to peek over the horizon. As he continued to watch the occupants of the house carry on with their business, Ichigo began to detect signs of their energy beginning to wane. Hisana would stop her work more frequently to wipe her brow. Sora switched from massaging his temples to rubbing the bridge of his nose and back and forth in an effort to keep himself awake as he talked on the phone. Byakuya was a bit harder to pinpoint, but eventually Ichigo noticed that Byakuya shifted his weight slightly from one foot to the other as he continued his work. Rukia, however, did something completely different from the others. Just before the sun rose, she slipped into Orihime's bedroom and shut the door behind her.

Only in very extreme circumstances did Ichigo ever set up security cameras in bedrooms or bathrooms since he did want the occupants of the house not to feel as though he was there to invade their privacy. Instead, he set up several security cameras outside their windows from different angles to watch for intruders trying to infiltrate the bedrooms.

So, as a result of not being able to see what was going on, Ichigo could only assume that Rukia had entered Orihime's room to clean up, wake Orihime up, set out an outfit or something along those lines. It seemed as though Ichigo's assumption was correct because as soon as the sun came into view, so did Orihime. Stepping out of her bedroom, Orihime stretched her arms above her head and inadvertently smiled brilliantly into one of the security cameras. For just a moment, Ichigo's mind was side-tracked as he was struck with the odd idea of watching two suns rise at the same time.

Hearing a knock on the door, Ichigo flinched slightly at the sound, but saw from the camera outside his door that it was Byakuya. Glancing over the other monitors, Ichigo saw that everyone else was on the move, but especially that Hisana was laying the table for the morning meal. Getting up from his cushioned swivel chair, Ichigo cracked his neck as he went to open the door.

As soon as the door was pulled back enough to reveal the butler's face, Byakuya inclined his head slightly and said, "Breakfast is ready, sir."

"All right then," replied Ichigo briefly before allowing Byakuya to precede him down the hall, down the stairs and into the dining room.

When he entered, Ichigo's gaze was immediately drawn to his principal. In comparison to the night before, it was obvious that she was now rested and full of energy.

"So, she's a morning person," thought Ichigo briefly before he said aloud, "Good morning, Orihime. I trust you slept well."

Ichigo detected a slight flush to Orihime's cheeks and neck, but her voice was quite composed as she replied, "Yes, I did. Thank you for asking."

Pleasantries aside, Ichigo waited by his chair until Byakuya had assisted Orihime into hers and then come around the table to seat him. Then, with Sora seated last, the meal began.

"Brother," asked Orihime as she spooned some chopped fruit onto her plate, "how did your conversation with Mr. Yamamoto go?"

Looking over at Orihime as he finished taking a drink from his glass, Sora paused long enough to quickly wipe his lips before he sighed and said, "I think it went about as good as can be expected. He's a tough customer to please and his demands sometimes seem a bit impossible," then he gave Orihime a reassuring smile as he said, "but he pays well and is willing to recommend us to his acquaintances when we satisfy him."

Turning to Ichigo, Sora inquired with a slight frown, "Did I ever mention what it is that I do?"

Pausing long enough to chew and swallow the bite of food in his mouth, Ichigo answered with a shake of the head, "No. It's never come up."

"I didn't think so," replied Sora as he placed his glass back on the table, "Well, I own a company that both researches and manufactures medical supplies and machinery. We try to cater to both human and supernatural customers, so our clientele is rather diverse."

Leaning back in his chair, Sora rested his temple against his fingertips as he went on, "Mr. Yamamoto is director of several hospitals in this area as well as in two other provinces. Being a mage himself, Mr. Yamamoto was one of the first to open a hospital strictly for supernatural beings, another strictly for humans and another who would admit any patient regardless of race within ten miles of each other."

"I think I remember that," said Ichigo as he set down his fork to take a drink of water, "There was a lot of controversy over the hospital that would admit anyone since most people feared that beings like vampires, werewolves or ghouls might attack and possibly eat any humans in the hospital."

"It was quite a while ago," replied Sora before he said with a slight smile, "and I must say that at the time I was quite amused with the clips and stories human newscasters decided to use of all the potential atrocities supernatural beings could cause to humankind…before they realized that we'd been living amongst them quite naturally for centuries."

With a grave expression, Sora added, "Granted, there were factions from every race who lived up to those atrocities mentioned and preferred to keep living in that dark, fearmongering lifestyle."

Ichigo saw Sora's eyes darken momentarily as he added under his breath, "Like my parents."

While he didn't feel at all uncomfortable in the changed atmosphere, nevertheless, Ichigo was pleasantly surprised when Orihime broke in gently, saying, "Sora, you cannot force change on others. If you try, they will resent you and do exactly as they please in front of you out of spite."

With a rather melancholy smile, Orihime went on, "And besides, even if there are still those who cling to the old ways, they are drastically held in check by rules and laws that carry heavy consequences if broken."

Letting out a long sigh, Sora gave his sister a warm smile as he said, "You're right, Orihime. It's been a long night and now it's my turn to go to bed before I fall asleep walking up the stairs or something."

The only sign of embarrassment Orihime showed was a slight flush to the cheeks and neck as she carefully wiped her mouth, rose from her chair and walked around to where her brother sat to give him an affectionate peck on his temple as she said, "Good work tonight and pleasant dreams, Brother."

Reaching out to squeeze her hand lightly, Sora turned to Byakuya and said, "A quick word, if you don't mind," to which Byakuya responded with a grave nod before following Sora into the hallway.

Returning to her seat and resuming her meal, Orihime was silent for a time before she cleared her throat and said, "I'll make sure to amuse myself or take care of a few things in my room while you and the others are resting, if that's what you think would be best."

"Only if you want to," answered Ichigo as he helped himself to another ham slice and a spoonful of eggs, "If you have any business or errands to run outside the house, I'll be up and around, so just let me know and we'll go."

Orihime's brow creased momentarily in confusion and then smoothed out again as she said, "Oh, I see. You got your sleep last night, then?"

Swallowing his bite of food, Ichigo shrugged and said simply, "As much as I need."

Frowning again, Orihime asked, "What's that supposed to mean?"

Letting out a silent sigh, Ichigo took enough time to wipe his mouth and set his silverware down before fixing Orihime with a stern 'after-I-explain-this-we're-dropping-the-subject' expression as he said, "Orihime, your brother hired me to be your bodyguard. As you are aware, I have been hired as a bodyguard on multiple occasions, so I know what I'm doing."

Pausing to take a sip of water but making sure that he kept his eyes locked with Orihime's so that she wouldn't try and protest due to being frozen by his stare, Ichigo cleared his throat and continued, "I explained to your brother last night that I don't need eight or even six hours of sleep in order to function properly. My responsibility is to protect you until my contract is fulfilled and your responsibility is to let me do my job without fuss or complaint on how I choose to go about things."

Lowering his chin slightly, Ichigo asked, "Do we understand one another?"

Orihime didn't answer right away, however, Ichigo could plainly see Orihime's entire thought process written all over her face. Part of his training had involved learning about 'micro-expressions' and subtle body language in order to assess whether an approaching person was a threat to the principal or not, or even if a person was lying to him. In Orihime's case, he didn't even need to bother trying. The girl had no poker face.

Finally, Orihime cleared her throat and said quietly, "Yes, I understand," while her eyes and expression added, 'But that doesn't mean I can't still worry about you.'

Giving a single nod in reply, Ichigo picked his silverware back up as he asked, "So, do you have any plans to go outside the house today?"

"Actually, I do," said Orihime before she explained, "I wanted to head into town and stop by the music store to pick up some sheet music they ordered for me as well as drop by the hospital and visit a few friends of mine."

"All right then," replied Ichigo, "About what time were you thinking of heading out?"

"Umm," said Orihime thoughtfully, "maybe around noon or so. If that's all right with you."

About to open his mouth and say something like 'I just told you that I'm only here to protect you, so I don't have a schedule to keep', Ichigo stopped himself and said instead, "Sure. I'll have the car ready by noon unless you tell me otherwise."

It might have just been Ichigo's imagination, but he could have sworn that when Orihime smiled at him, the light in the room increased marginally and yet noticeably.

**Author's Note:**

I tried my best to appease you, oh 'bleach god', with this fictional offering. I know it wasn't long, but it was either that or what another week or so for it to be finished and I really didn't want you to start packing your hunting gear.

Anyway, I promised an explanation and here it is. My thought is that vampires don't just need human or animal blood to survive. To my mind, anything with a kind of 'lifeblood' would be edible to them, they just have more of a liquid diet. The water inside fruits and vegetables could be considered their 'lifeblood', at least, that's what I'm trying to do here. My next thought is that vampires used to prefer human blood because it would satisfy them longer. The more intelligent their prey, the longer it would be before they need to feed again.

Part of the idea came when my older sister decided to try a juicing/cleansing diet for a week (this was sometime last year) where we would juice all our meals. Somehow she convinced me to do it and while I know I wasn't starving myself and was technically getting enough nutrients, I was constantly hungry because drinking fruits and vegetables and drinking water will only do so much to satisfy your hunger.

The vampires here won't eat many solid foods or grains/carbs (since those are dried out). They don't like garlic because that stuff is potent. Think about it. It smells and tastes good in moderation, but it can get pretty noxious if you're not careful...especially after you are finished eating it.

I think there was one other point that I wanted to cover, but it's escaping me at the moment. If I think of it, I might add it in later on.

In conclusion, hope you liked this update and feel free to ask me questions or give feedback as you see fit. I'm curious if there are any ideas/suggestions/guesses for who Orihime is going to see in the hospital and why. :)


	4. Chapter 4

Looking over at the clock, Orihime jumped slightly in surprise as she realized that it was 11:58. Slamming her book shut and rolling out of her comfy chair in a very unladylike fashion, she dashed over to her dressing table to give herself a quick once-over. Finding no major fault in her appearance, Orihime smoothed out her dress and then dashed from the room.

Coming to the stairs, she skipped lightly down the steps two or three at a time and Orihime almost made it to the bottom without mishap…almost. Six steps from the bottom, Orihime's foot slipped from under her and she just barely managed to right herself before crashing down the rest of the way. Not an unusual occurrence for her, but one that usually happened without witnesses…usually.

"Are you all right?"

As she lifted her gaze, Orihime knew that wasn't the only thing rising as she said hastily, "Y-yes! Yes! I'm perfectly fine!"

Ichigo paused just inside the front entrance as she said that and then replied, "All right then. The car's ready."

It was a struggle for Orihime not to ruin the tiny bit of dignity she had left by allowing her smile to fall from her face as she heard Ichigo's response. While she had been mortified that Ichigo had witnessed her klutziness, a part of her had been thrilled that Ichigo had reacted that quickly to her predicament. His tone just now, however, had reminded her of exactly why her well-being was something of a priority for Ichigo. It was his job to look after her. He had no other motivation for doing so and that realization made Orihime's natural bubbly and happy personality deflate slightly.

Giving Ichigo a small, grateful nod as he held the door open for her and then close it behind her, Orihime then took the few seconds she had before Ichigo climbed into the driver's seat to give herself a huge mental shake. Ichigo was a bodyguard, she was his principal. Their relationship…oh, how the word brought up such lovely images of the two of them together eating a picnic lunch at the beach or even…

Without thinking, Orihime slapped her cheeks and cried out, "Enough already!"

Ever able to pick just the right moment for doing something out of the ordinary, Orihime jumped when Ichigo poked his head inside the car and asked, "What was that?"

As per usual, Orihime was about to try and laugh the whole thing off and apologize for startling Ichigo, but just as she was about to, her intuition told her to handle this differently than usual.

Taking a deep breath, Orihime replied, "I was telling myself to stop letting my imagination run wild."

Pulling his head out of the car momentarily so that he could then sit down in the driver's seat, Ichigo said, "I guess that would be one way of going about it," and Orihime's heart sank slightly until she heard him go on, saying, "but cut yourself a little slack, all right?"

Not knowing what else to say, Orihime replied automatically, "Oh...right," before she collected her thoughts enough to ask, "So, you don't think it's weird that someone my age talks to themselves and daydreams?"

Ichigo didn't respond right away as he was more focused on taking the car down the driveway, remotely opening the front gate and scanning the area outside the gate for potential threats, but as soon as the car was on the road, he said, "If that's the worst quirk you've got, then I gotta admit that it doesn't particularly surprise or shock me."

Again at a loss for a response, Orihime simply said, "Oh," after which Ichigo went on to say, "All I meant was that I've worked for quite a number of people over the years and some of them were real scumbags."

"Oh?" said Orihime in an inquisitive and slightly bewildered tone.

Pausing momentarily to make a turn, Ichigo said, "A few of them would do things or go places that…well, I'll skip the details."

Just before she said 'oh' for the third time, Orihime stopped herself and asked instead, "Why would you work for people whose habits you find detestable?"

After the words had left her mouth, she immediately clapped her hands over her mouth and said in a hasty, mortified tone, "I'm sorry! That was incredibly rude of me to ask you something so personal!"

"Well," replied Ichigo in a tone that Orihime didn't recognize as it was one where he was trying to suppress a chuckle, "I wouldn't say it was particularly rude of you to ask. Rather, I'd say it was a bit of a bold, inquisitive and just slightly brazen question to ask."

Holding up a hand to cut off the flood of words he seemed to sense coming from Orihime, Ichigo went on to say, "In answer to your question, I was just starting out when I took jobs from those scumbags I mentioned. They paid well and I was able to build a good reputation as a body guard by working hard for them, even if I didn't agree with what they did in their personal lives."

Shrugging his shoulders, Ichigo finished with, "Besides, it doesn't matter if I don't like what they do in their spare time. They have a right to protect themselves from being murdered same as anyone else. Only difference was they could afford to pay people like me to keep them alive."

Orihime opened her mouth to ask another question, but this time the bit her tongue. She needed to keep reminding herself that she didn't know Ichigo like she knew Sora and Byakuya. They didn't mind Orihime's persistent inquisitiveness and were always very patient with her, but Ichigo wasn't used to dealing with her. The last thing she wanted was to exasperate the man on his first day of work.

Again seeming to sense Orihime's inner struggle, Ichigo said calmly, "If you have more questions, just go ahead and ask them. Promise I won't take offense or get mad at you if you ask questions that I can't really answer. All right?"

"Okay then," replied Orihime slowly before she asked, "So, do you have a family or...?"

From her vantage point, Orihime wasn't able to see the knowing smirk on Ichigo's face as Orihime's sentence trailed off lamely and his voice was even and slightly detached as he replied, "My dad is a doctor and he works out of a private clinic. I have two younger sisters who are going to graduate from college in the next year or so. I have a few close friends, but I mostly keep to myself due to my line of work."

"I see," replied Orihime before asking another question, "Where do you live?"

"If I told you, I'd have to kill you. Part of my job, you understand."

"Really?!" Orihime was both fascinated and horrified by this 'revelation'.

"I'm kidding," said Ichigo in a flat tone, yet with a bit of a grin before he changed the subject by saying, "By the way, I'm just driving right now without a real good idea of where exactly you want to go. So, we can just randomly wind up wherever, or..."

Sitting up taller and shaking her head, Orihime replied hurriedly, "Oh yes! Right. I'm really sorry about that. I completely forgot that you don't know your way around and all-"

Ichigo held up a finger and said, "I never said that I don't know my way around this area. I just don't know what specific music store and hospital you wanted to visit."

Nodding quickly in understanding, Orihime answered, "The music I want to pick up is at Appoggiatura's Symposium and I also wanted to visit Cypress Inclusive Hospital."

"All right then," replied Ichigo rather distractedly as he prepared to make a turn, "Good thing you told me as I would have gone right past it in another minute or two."

Before Orihime could apologize, Ichigo distracted her by asking, "So what kind of music are you going to pick up?"

Eyes brightening with excitement, Orihime said in breathless anticipation, "A book of Chopin's Nocturnes and Preludes and sheet music for Yiruma's song 'Love Me'. I randomly came across it online and just had to have the music."

"Interesting choices," replied Ichigo as he slowed down at a stop light, "How long have you been taking lessons?"

"Well actually," said Orihime in a less enthusiastic tone, "my mother began teaching me when I was about six. She said I needed some kind of hobby and..." she hesitated slightly before finishing in a barely perceptible tone, "and she said I should learn something that would help attract the right man."

"Oh," was all Ichigo could think of to say before Orihime began rambling on, saying, "My mother was a very thorough teacher when it came to the basics of playing music, so I really wouldn't be a good pianist and enjoy it as much as I do now if she hadn't have done all that she did."

"I suppose," replied Ichigo automatically before saying, "As long as you get enjoyment out of playing, I guess that's all you can really hope for."

There was silence for a little while and Ichigo was just about to ask if Orihime was all right when she asked quietly, "Did Sora tell you who our parents really are?"

"Yes," Ichigo answered evenly, "He did."

"And?"

Frowning slightly at her in the rear view mirror, Ichigo repeated, "And what?"

As she met Ichigo's gaze, Orihime's eyes were cautious as she asked, "Well, if you know who our parents are, why..."

"Why did I take the job?" finished Ichigo in a flat tone, "Is that what you want to know?"

Opening her mouth and finding that her voice didn't want to cooperate, Orihime settled for a mere nod of assent.

Shaking his head, Ichigo returned his gaze to the road as he said in a strained yet surprisingly patient tone, "In case I didn't make it quite clear earlier, up until about a year ago, almost all my jobs were done for some highly unsavory characters in prestigious positions. Some of them may have even been personal acquaintances of your parents, such as Kisuragi Yasha and Naoko Kinomoto. Recognize their names?"

Orihime frowned for a moment or two in concentration before her expression cleared in complete shock and Ichigo went on, saying, "That's right. I was hired by those two as well as a few others in the infamous vampire circles as well as a few crime bosses."

Flicking on his turn signal, Ichigo said sternly, "Now, don't get the wrong idea and think that I take every single job that's ever been offered me. There have been several times over the years where I've refused to guard someone based on my moral code. While I do believe in giving criminals a fair trial and making the punishment fit the crime, if a person's vices causes him or her to become an absolute monster, I will not put myself in harm's way to save them. Paid or not."

This time it was Orihime's turn to utter a simple, "Oh," before Ichigo continued with, "Also, I am a big believer in the idea that while a person's upbringing can have an impact on their life, to my mind it's then that person's choice whether their past will have a positive or negative influence on their future. We cannot control another person's actions or choices, but we can choose how much control those things will have over our own actions and choices."

Waiting until Orihime's eyes connected with his again in the rear view mirror, Ichigo said, "So, in a nutshell, it really doesn't matter to me who your parents are. Sure, it helps give me an idea of some issues that I may have to face during the course of this job, but it doesn't define my perception of who you are."

Next moment, he put the car in park and said, "That being said, we're here."

Snapping back to reality, Orihime was just reaching for the door handle when Ichigo said in a soft, authoritative tone, "Wait," and she immediately retracted her hand. Looking around her, Orihime realized that Ichigo had parked the car a little ways away from the music store. Actually, to be more precise, he had parked on the street by a park that they would have to cross through in order to get to the music store.

Realizing that Ichigo had turned around in his seat and was waiting for her to look at him, Orihime immediately sat up taller and gave him her full attention. Apparently, something about her actions amused him as the corners of his mouth softened slightly, but the moment passed quickly and Ichigo was again in control of his expressions.

"From what your brother told me," Ichigo began, "he's not sure who may be targeting you, so we're going to use a bit of a ruse when we're out in public. Unlike most of my jobs, people aren't used to seeing you with a bodyguard, so me going out there with you will look far too suspicious."

Orihime was about to say something, but thought better of it and closed her mouth tightly. Ichigo, however, asked, "What's on your mind?"

Flushing slightly, Orihime inquired timidly, "If someone asked who you were, couldn't I pretend that you were a relative or new...boyfriend or something like that?"

This time, Ichigo didn't restrain his grin of amusement as he replied, "An interesting notion. However, any supernatural being would be able to pick up on the fact that I'm a werewolf and therefore see through the ruse. Also, I don't have a great desire to be mistaken for an overprotective boyfriend who needs to keep his girl within arm's reach at all times."

Becoming serious again, Ichigo explained, "So, when we are out in public, I am going to shift into my second form and watch over you that way. If I sense danger approaching, I'll pull you away insistently or change back into my regular form depending on the severity of the situation."

Before Orihime could ask what Ichigo's second form was, his face seemed to waver for a moment before shooting out of sight. Involuntarily letting out a gasp of surprise, Orihime pulled herself forward to look into the driver's seat. In Ichigo's place was a bigger than average Shibu Inu dog. Ichigo's clothing was draped across the seat, but the dog quickly gripped the clothes in his jaws and shoved them under the driver's seat.

Staring in disbelief at the dog, Orihime jumped slightly when the dog began talking to her, saying, "Once we're outside the car, I'm not going to talk at all as that would certainly blow my cover, so if you have any questions, now's the time to ask."

In a slightly dazed voice, Orihime said, "I didn't know werewolves could shift like that."

"My father's a werewolf, but my mother was a shifter," Ichigo explained, "So, during the full moon, while I do shift involuntarily into an actual wolf form, I'm still mostly in control of my actions. On the flip side, I had to work out five times as much to be physically fit enough to grapple with just about any kind of assailant, whereas I might not have needed to it I had been a full werewolf."

"Oh," Orihime said initially before asking, "But won't it be just as suspicious for me to suddenly have a pet dog? And actually, I don't have a collar or tags for you, so won't it look like I'm looking after a stray."

"People are far more likely to buy the whole 'I just bought a new pet' story then 'Meet my new boyfriend who follows me around everywhere'," replied Ichigo, "And as for a collar with tags, there's one in my bag if you wouldn't mind pulling it out."

Orihime did so and then carefully fastened it around Ichigo's neck. She looked at the name plate and read 'Ichi' printed on it.

"All right then," said Ichigo matter-of-factly, "if you wouldn't mind opening the door for me, we can head on over to pick up your music."

**Author's Note:**

Once again, I'm not going to write much here since I don't really have a whole lot to say. Another update that was way too long in the 'I don't know where to take this next' phase. I'm hoping to have another chapter done before summer is over, if not a whole lot sooner than that. However, I can't guarantee anything at this point since there are a lot of other stories that have been waiting for an update as well and now I'm starting to sound like I'm giving excuses so I'll just stop.

Hope you liked it and don't hesitate to let me know if there are any inconsistencies or ideas that you think would help the plot along!


	5. Chapter 5

While the majority of Ichigo's brain was fully occupied with scanning his surroundings for potential assailants, the minority kept repeated the mantra, "Just stay cool. Just stay in control. Just act natural." Had his telepathic friend been around to 'hear' Ichigo's thoughts, they might have thought the bodyguard was talking to himself as he walked alongside an absolutely gorgeous woman. Ichigo, however, was actually mentally coaching his principal. Even though he would take a bullet to protect her, Ichigo would greatly prefer not being forced to make such a decision simply because his principal had no poker face.

For her part, Orihime felt far more relaxed now with Ichigo than she would have been had he been human. Something about glancing over and not seeing a handsome, just about six-feet tall young man walking alongside her, ready to protect her from anything, but rather having an adorable (she would make absolutely sure never to say that out loud) dog trotting along beside her made her feel protected yet not self-conscious.

Cutting through the park, Orihime couldn't help but smile at the beautiful day it was turning out to be. How could one help but be content on such a day as this? The sun was out, a refreshing breeze would drift by every now and again, children were laughing and playing at the park while their parents or nannies watched attentively; one couldn't ask for a nicer day.

Then, Orihime felt a kind of prickly, tingly feeling creep up from the base of her neck to her skull. Even though she had only felt that sensation two other times, Orihime knew exactly what it meant. As her vision became rather unfocused and her heart rate slowly began to increase, Orihime quickened her steps to match. Now was not the time. Maybe after she picked up her music, she could...

After what felt like an eternity, Orihime reached out to pull the store's door open and fairly flung herself inside. Taking a few deep, calming breaths, Orihime was relieved to discover that her vision and heart rate were gradually becoming normal again. A slight tugging on her skirt made Orihime look down and she saw Ichigo looking up at her with doggy eyes that were asking 'What happened? Do you need me to do something?'

As she shook her head no, the shop owner's voice called out cheerily, "Ms. Inoue! What a pleasure to see such a lovely and faithful customer as you grace my store once again."

Inhaling deeply, Orihime looked up and said with as sincere a smile as she could muster, "Good afternoon, Mr. Urahara! How are you doing today?"

"Nothing to complain of," replied the shopkeeper as he made his way towards her, gesturing broadly to accentuate his points, saying, "The sun is rather bright and unrelenting, but most people prefer the weather this way," before he switched the subject and inquired, "Here to pick up those books I ordered for you?"

"Yes, please," Orihime said pleasantly before Urahara stopped dead in his tracks and stared at her feet. Or more accurately, stared down at the dog who was standing near her feet.

Flushing with embarrassment and desperation, Orihime hastily began with, "I'm so sorry, Mr. Urahara! I promise that he won't inconvenience you at all! He's really a good dog and we'll be out of your way as soon as I've finished paying! I just didn't think it was a good idea to leave him in the car or outside or...I'm sorry."

Looking up at her and waving his hand dismissively, Urahara said, "Don't worry about it, my dear. I don't mind at all," then he leaned forward and said in a conspiratorial tone, "My wife would, though, since she's more of a cat person, so we'd better get down to business."

Two minutes later, Orihime and Ichigo exited Appoggiatura's Symposium, the bundle of music clutched against Orihime's chest. Heaving a great sigh of relief, Orihime took a moment or two to compose herself before looking down at her doggy protector. He didn't look up at her since he was always scanning around for potential trouble, but Orihime was fairly certain that he was becoming rather curious as to why they were just standing outside the shop door.

Orihime was about to start walking again when she felt that sensation again and realized that her eyeteeth were beginning to elongate. Whoever her intuition was picking up on was really close-by. As her mind started to become detached and her instincts began taking over, Orihime looked around to try and locate the source of this 'flare-up' and if there was anywhere private or at least mostly out of sight that she could bolt with the person.

Feeling an insistent tug on her dress, Orihime looked down and saw Ichigo with his jaws clamped firmly on the hem of her dress. Swallowing hard, Orihime breathed deeply and felt the symptoms vanish as quickly as they had taken over. Giving the dog the best version of a smile that she could muster at the moment, Orihime leaned down far enough to stroke Ichigo's jaw to try and coax him into letting her go without any more fuss. It was hard for Orihime to figure out if the expression in her bodyguard's canine eyes was one of reluctance, suspicion or relief over the situation. In actuality, it was all three.

Making their way back through the park, Ichigo and Orihime made it back to the car without further incident. At first, Orihime reached out to open the driver's door for Ichigo to climb inside, but another tug on her dress hem alerted her to the fact that he actually wanted her to open the back door first. Once that was done, she stepped back to allow him to clamber inside before a certain tilt to his head told Orihime that since he was still her bodyguard/guard dog, she was supposed to climb in first.

When they were both inside and Orihime had closed the door behind them, Ichigo said, "If you wouldn't mind removing the collar and then getting out what looks like a large cloth from the glove compartment and draping it over me after I get in the driver's seat, we'll head for the hospital next."

Again, Orihime did as she was told without question. To her immense surprise, when Ichigo emerged from under the sheet he was fully clothed once again. What startled her was not the fact that he had dressed himself but rather that 1) he had done so with barely a hint of movement as far as she could tell and 2) he had done so in about a minute's time. From where she was sitting, Orihime didn't see or realize that Ichigo was not wearing his shoes or socks and instead were set to the side. With practice, Ichigo had come up with a system where he was been able to lay out his clothes in such a way under the sheet and wiggle his way into them before transforming back to his human form so that all he had to do was do up his buttons, belt and tie, but he had yet to discover a way to fit his feet into his footwear while transforming so he usually just set them to the side.

Seeing Orihime's startled, gaping expression in the rear-view mirror, Ichigo tried his best to suppress his smirk as he asked nonchalantly, "Where to next, Orihime?"

Quickly snapping her seat belt in place, Orihime couldn't seem to decide if she should stare at her hands or out the window as she replied sheepishly, "The hospital, please."

"All right then," was all Ichigo said as he turned the key in the ignition and turned the car in the direction of the hospital. For the time being, he had decided not to press Orihime for details about her two lapses, considering that she had more than likely spaced out when she noticed something of particular interest or got lost in some sort of mental daydream. It was one of the few lapses in judgement that he would have while working with the young woman.

The trip was mostly uneventful, except at the very beginning when they stopped at a red light. Having decided that looking at the scenery outside helped quite a bit towards keeping her mind off her fascinating driver, Orihime's attention was drawn towards a middle-aged man who seemed to be waiting to cross the street. As soon as her eyes fell on him, Orihime felt her senses scream into overdrive for the third time that day, albeit not nearly as strong as before since there was distance and a reinforced car door between them. Next moment, the light turned green and Ichigo pulled away, causing the fog clouding Orihime's senses to clear suddenly. Glancing over at her bodyguard, Orihime decided it was best not to mention what had just happened.

Arriving in the Cypress Inclusive Hospital's parking lot, Ichigo slowly drove around for a few minutes to check and see if any cars were tailing them before finding a parking spot that wasn't too far from the entrance. After shutting off the car, Ichigo scanned the surrounding area to make sure they were quite alone before once again transforming into his dog form.

The hospital which Orihime had wanted to visit was one of those that would treat anyone, but that mostly specialized in helping supernatural creatures. As such, no one looked twice when Orihime walked up to the front desk with a medium-sized dog trailing along behind her since there was no policy restricting animals from entering the premises. Quite the opposite, in fact. There were plaques and signs everywhere stating that anyone allergic to animal hair could be treated in this facility, but was strongly encouraged to seek help at another hospital.

The nurse behind the front desk glanced up from the paperwork in his hands when he noticed Orihime approaching. A smile lit up his features as he bowed his head and said respectfully, "Ms. Inoue! What a pleasant surprise!"

Clasping her hands in front of her, Orihime returned the gesture as she replied, "Good to see you as well...Hanataro," putting special emphasis on the name in a good-natured, teasing tone.

Rubbing the back of his neck with a rather self-conscious chuckle, Hanataro replied, "Ha ha ha...I keep forgetting," before saying in a rush, "Here to see the doctor, I suppose. I think he's scheduled to see a pre-op patient up on the third floor, but I'm pretty sure he should be done in the next few minutes."

Nodding her thanks, Orihime said over her shoulder, "Thanks, Hanataro! I'll make sure to say good-bye before I leave!"

As he passed the desk, Ichigo's peripheral vision caught the young man staring at Orihime's retreating back with a stupefied and dream-like expression. The bodyguard couldn't help the thought that the poor boy had it bad along with a good percentage of the male population who crossed Orihime's path. However, it was a mere passing thought that Ichigo didn't give much heed to as he had far more important things to pay attention to than a love-sick nurse who couldn't be less of a threat if he tried.

Orihime glided up the flights of stairs and through the hallways, pausing every now and again to speak with various acquaintances or even people she had never met before that moment as far as Ichigo could tell. Those of the male gender usually had similar expressions to Hanataro's on their faces when Orihime left them in her wake, which didn't surprise Ichigo in the slightest. What did surprise him was the fact that when she walked away from a fellow female, the woman didn't act or look at all resentful of the attention Orihime got from those around her. Most of them even had small smile on their faces as they went on their way. However, as surprising as it was, Ichigo's professionalism would not allow him to think too much about such things while he was still out and about with his principal in the open. Possibly he would consider the relevance of such interactions later when they were back at the house...at least, when he wasn't busy making sure the house and grounds were secure.

On they went for a time and Ichigo was just beginning to wonder if Orihime had forgotten her original reason for coming to the hospital when he heard a male voice behind them say, "Ms. Inoue."

Turning around with a smile, Orihime began with, "Ury-" before politely inclining her head and saying in a warm yet rather formal way, "I mean, Dr. Ishida. It's good to see you."

While the man's expression remained rather bland, Ichigo thought he could spot traces of amusement in the deep blue eyes as he replied, "And you as well, Ms. Inoue," then he adjusted his glasses as he inquired, "Here to see Ms. Arisawa, I presume?

At the mention of the name, Orihime's expression darkened slightly as she said, "That's right. I know I should have come sooner, it's just that...well...how is Tatsuki?"

Gesturing towards a room a little ways down the hall on the right hand side, Uryu said, "I was just talking with her, actually. Her surgery is scheduled for later this evening."

When Orihime didn't respond for a time and simply stared through the wall outside her friend's hospital room, Uryu's expression softened as he laid a hand on her shoulder and said in a hushed tone, "It's all right. She wants to see you."

"But I haven't se-" began Orihime before Uryu cut her off, saying, "Orihime, it's only been a week since you last saw her. Stop worrying and just go talk with her."

Again, Orihime didn't move or say anything until Uryu put a hand on the space between her shoulder blades and gave her a moderate push to get her feet moving. After that, she was carried forward by a kind of momentum down the hall and through the doorway while Ichigo trailed behind her.

The room itself was small and the curtains were closed to block out the afternoon sun. These were not regular curtains, however, more of the 'black-out' variety. The only light source came from a lamp that was turned on to its lowest setting, which indicated to Ichigo that the room's occupant was likely a nocturnal mystical being. Like a vampire, perhaps. His suspicions were mostly confirmed when he got a look at the bed's occupant, who appeared to be sleeping when they came in, but opened their eyes when they heard footsteps in the room. The young woman's eyes were a deep brown, almost black, color and when she smiled, Ichigo noted the slightly elongated eyeteeth.

"Hey, you," said Tatsuki as she reached over to push the button to raise the bed until she was in a sitting posture, "How've you been?"

Trying to put on her brightest smile, Orihime's eyes were shimmering as she replied, "I'm fine! Never been..." but her voiced trailed away as her lower lip began to quiver and next moment Orihime's tears fell rapidly as she said, "Oh, Tatsuki! I'm so sorry!"

Tatsuki shook her head in mild exasperation as she held out her arms towards her friend, who hesitated for a heartbeat or two before walking up to the side of the bed and asking in a quiet tone, "Are you sure? I don't want to hurt you."

Rolling her eyes while grinning, Tatsuki replied firmly, "Honestly, Orihime. It's my only liver and I'm not dying, so just get over here," and because she probably knew that Orihime was still unsure, Tatsuki reached over to grab her friend's hand and pull her over until Orihime was beside her on the bed. Sniffling, Orihime laid her head on Tatsuki's shoulder while the other girl waited for her to calm down before talking.

When she finally did speak, Orihime's voice still had something of a tremor as she said, "I really am sorry, Tatsuki. I should have come sooner."

"Nonsense," replied Tatsuki firmly, "It would have been nice to see or hear from you, but we're adults now. Things happen."

"But I should have been there," said Orihime while looking up at Tatsuki's face, "I should have been with you when you got the news."

For the second time in as many minutes, Tatsuki rolled her eyes as she said, "Seriously Orihime, you're acting like I'm dying here. My liver hasn't completely failed yet. This procedure is just to make sure things are taken care of before it actually gets to that point. Honestly, the whole thing is so mundane, I almost fell asleep when Uryu was talking to me just a little bit ago."

Turning over so that she could swipe at her eyes with both hands, Orihime nevertheless began crying all over again as she said, "I know I'm being silly coming here and crying when I'm supposed to apologize with a smile and then cheer you up because you're the one who really needs to be comforted since you're in the hospital for a surgery that's going to help you become just as strong as you've always been, but now you're trying to comfort me and that's not supposed to be fine with me but it is because you're just so wonderful and I love you so much, Tatsuki!"

"I know that," said Tatsuki with a hint of a chuckle in her voice, "And I don't mind because I love you too, okay?"

"Okay."

Settling back on her pillows, Tatsuki said with a sigh, "Now that we've come to that understanding, how's about you tell me all about your week and why you decided to go and get a pet dog and we'll call the whole thing squared away."

At the mention of a dog, Orihime sat upright and looked over at Ichigo as though she had forgotten all about him. And honestly, she actually had. With Orihime looking so panicked in that moment, Ichigo wondered with a slight sinking feeling in his stomach whether or not she was going to 'spill the beans'.

"Oh, right," Orihime began in a tone that clearly showed how quickly her brain was trying to come up with a suitable reply, "My brother hired him for me."

"Don't you mean 'bought'?" asked Tatsuki.

Ichigo groaned internally as he could practically see the ideas flashing through Orihime's mind as her brain put that term into a different context and her features flushing as a result, but she nodded her head vigorously as she said in an almost breathless tone, "Uhh, right. Sora...bought him for me."

"And what's his name?"

"Ichig-I mean, Ichi," squeaked Orihime.

Pushing herself away from the bed slightly to look over at Ichigo, Tatsuki looked him over carefully before leaning back and saying complacently, "Glad your brother finally found you a companion to have around during the day," then she asked, "Is he a good guard dog? Keeping away all those creepy guys hanging around you?"

Looking over at Tatsuki, Orihime giggled as she replied, "There aren't any creepy guys hanging around me."

"Yeah, right. And I'm the Empress of France," retorted Tatsuki with a firm glare, "There's always a few buzzing around you, but usually you're too kind-hearted to notice."

"Tatsuki!" Orihime began to protest before Tatsuki cut her off by asking, "And weren't you about to tell me about the rest of your week?" to which, Orihime's only recourse was to comply.

* * *

They left Tatsuki's room about an hour later when a nurse came in to check Tatsuki's vitals and Orihime noticed her friend trying to hide a tired yawn. Giving her friend a gentle, expressive hug, Orihime promised to come back early the following morning to check on Tatsuki and possibly later on in the evening if she could manage it.

After chatting with a few more people in the hallways, Orihime and Ichigo finally made it to the stairwell. For a brief moment, Ichigo thought to himself that it had been a long and yet pretty much uneventful day, so from here on it would be pretty smooth sailing. And of course, that turned out to be quite false.

The first indication he had that something was wrong was when Orihime suddenly stopped on the landing. The second indication was that he noticed Orihime gripping the railing as if it were a lifeline. Those indicators were confirmed when he looked down the stairwell as saw a middle-aged man coming towards them.

Immediately going into 'bodyguard mode', Ichigo was about to place himself between his principal and the approaching figure, teeth bared and ready to go on the offensive, when Orihime knelt down next to him and gently stroked the top of his head. For some inexplicable reason, Ichigo's hackles and defenses lowered under her influence, even though he remained skeptical and wary of what was going on. As for the man, when he reached the landing, he looked up to give Orihime and Ichigo nothing more than a cursory glance before continuing on his way, but he stopped and stared at Orihime as if frozen.

Rising to her feet, Orihime said in a soothing, lilting, melodious tone that Ichigo had never heard her use before, "I remember you from earlier. Our paths crossed in town and then we drove past you on our way here. Is everything all right? Tell me."

The man seemed to struggle within himself for several seconds before Orihime repeated in that same, almost hypnotic tone, "Tell me," and then the man began to speak without once stopping for breath, as if the words had been anxiously awaiting release and Orihime's voice had finally set them free. He spoke about how his wife of thirty years, a xana, was a long-term patient of this hospital. She had been diagnosed with blood and skin poisoning from a contaminated water source and while she was getting better, the process had been slow and arduous. He had taken as much time off work to be with her as he dared, but now he was torn between putting in long hours in order to make money to support his family and desperately wanting to stay by his wife's side in her time of need. To top it all off, in the past few days, police had taken him in for questioning and searched his home to see if his wife's sickness might have been the result of foul play. The man was at his wit's end.

When the whole sorry tale had been told, the man's shoulders slumped and he seemed several sizes smaller, which was rather odd as he was almost six feet tall and solidly built. The age and worry lines on his faces looked far deeper now than before. However, his eyes were the most revealing, or rather, due to the fact that they looked hollow and hopeless spoke to just how lost and depressed the man felt.

Taking a step forward, Orihime spoke in the same tone she had used earlier as she said, "It'll be all right. Don't worry. I can help you, if you'll let me."

"How?"

Instead of answering directly, Orihime asked, "Would you like me to help you?"

"...Yes...please..."

"Good. Then just bend over a little bit for me."

This time, the man showed no hesitation as he did what Orihime asked. Ichigo realized exactly what was about to happen a split second before his principal bit into the man's neck.

**Author's Note:**

Hopefully this was almost worth that long wait...I'm mostly satisfied with how this chapter progressed, but my problem with this story is I have absolutely no idea where or how I want things to end up, so without a good idea of my final destination I'm just throwing things in willy nilly in hopes that something will come to me eventually. For now, I'll be mostly satisfied with just plugging away when something occurs to me that mostly fits with what I've already done.

Now, to explain a few things that happened in here. Similar to the vampires drinking the 'lifeblood' of fruits and vegetables, I decided just the other day that coming up with some reasonable illnesses that are similar to our own for mythical creatures seemed like an interesting concept. So, I chose to have Tatsuki in the hospital preparing for a liver transplant since it's not life-threatening if caught early and yet would legitimize her reason for being in the hospital for over a week prior to the surgery (at least I think so...if not, we'll say her condition was a bit more serious than that of a human since her metabolism and physiology is different from a normal human or something like that...anything but the fact that I'm not a medical practitioner and therefore have to resort to Google searches in order to have a faint clue as to what happens in different medical procedures and such) and also because it does filter the blood in the body, so it made sense in my brain.

Also, I chose to have the man's wife be a xana just because I didn't want to make her a water nymph. I wanted something a little different. For more information about what a xana is, here's a link en. /wiki/ Xana. Just take out the spaces. And as for her condition, again, I was taking a stab in the dark there and trying to be semi-creative.

Anyway, hope you guys enjoyed this update! Check that off my list of things to do today! :)


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